New Delhi, Jan 23 (IANS) Maharashtra’s Sakshi Sunil Padekar and Railways’ Shahu Tushar Mane bettered national record scores in the finals and qualification rounds of the 10m Air Rifle women and men events, respectively, as the competition in National Selection Trials 1&2 (Group A), hots up at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting ranges in the National Capital Region.

Sakshi shot 254.3 in the T2 final while Shahu Tushar Mane scored 637.1 in the men’s T2 qualification. Both these scores are better than the national record; however, scores in trials are not considered for records. Olympian Arjun Babuta won the T2 men’s final, while Sakshi claimed the corresponding women’s title. Olympian Rahi Sarnobat claimed the T2 final in the women’s 25m Pistol.

Sakshi Padekar dominates 10m Air Rifle Women (Trial 2)

Maharashtra’s Sakshi Sunil Padekar produced a commanding performance in the 10m Air Rifle Women Trial 2, staying firmly in control from qualification through to the final. Padekar topped the qualification round with an impressive 634.4 before backing it up with a superb 254.3 in the final, better than the existing national record score, set by Elavenil Valarivan in the Asian Shooting Championship last year, to seal first place in emphatic fashion.

Kerala’s Vidarsa K. Vinod shot 252.0 in the final to finish second, while World Championship bronze medallist Valarivan, who was second in qualification with 633.4, claimed third place with a final score of 231.4. Uttar Pradesh’s Khyati Chaudhary narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing fourth with 209.7, while Delhi’s Rajshree Anilkumar Sancheti ended the final in fifth place with 188.6.

Maharashtra’s Arya Rajesh Borse finished sixth with 167.5, while Trial 1 winner Tilottama Sen placed seventh with 145.3. West Bengal’s Ismita Bhowal did not start the final despite qualifying sixth with a score of 631.6.

Arjun Babuta wins 10m Air Rifle Men (Trial 2)

Olympian Arjun Babuta claimed top honours in a closely-contested 10m Air Rifle Men Trial 2 final, finishing with 253.4. Babuta, who had qualified second with 632.4, elevated his performance in the final to edge Maharashtra’s Parth Rakesh Mane by the narrowest of margins. Parth finished just 0.1 points behind on 253.3 to take second place, with both athletes shooting 10.8 in their final shot. Navy’s Kiran Ankush Jadhav secured third with 231.2.

Delhi’s Paarth Makhiya finished fourth with 210.1, followed by Telangana’s Dhanush Srikanth in fifth on 187.9. Top qualifier Shahu Tushar Mane of Railways, who had bettered the national record score in qualification with an outstanding 637.1, was unable to convert that advantage in the final and finished sixth with 166.5 after a shoot-off with Haryana’s Samarvir Singh (145.2). Maharashtra’s Gajanan Shahadev Khandagale rounded off the final line-up with 121.9.

Rahi Sarnobat storms to gold

Former Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Rahi Sarnobat finished on top to claim gold in the 25m Pistol Women Trial 2 final, accumulating 43 hits in a dominant display. Haryana’s Vibhuti Bhatia once again impressed to secure second place with 35 hits.

Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, who had led the qualification round with 589-24x, settled for third place with 31 hits. Punjab’s Arshdeep Kaur, second in qualification with 583-21x, finished fourth with 23 hits, while Simranpreet Kaur Brar (17) and Riya Singh (7) finished fifth and sixth respectively. Anjali Choudhary and Esha Singh did not start the Trial 2 final.

The action continues on Saturday with the 10m Air Pistol Trial 1 events for both men’s and women’s categories.

–IANS

bsk/